Playas del Coco Shopping: Finding Authentic Souvenirs
By Jennifer LaCharite
While the store owners of typical souvenir shops and buskers at the beaches are hard-working locals who deserve all of our support, sometimes you just want to bring home something a little more authentic to the place you’ve travelled. Something handmade by someone who lives and breathes the land you fell in love with on your trip. This guide will help you find something unique to Playas del Coco and Costa Rica so you can bring home a piece of the country that stole your heart!
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Where to Buy Souvenirs in Playas del Coco
Fresh Local Market
The Coco Sunday Market, or Pamela’s Coco Sunday Market as it is now referred to in memory of its late founder, takes place every Sunday from 10 am to 2 pm at The Garden Bar at Hotel Puerta del Sol. This market is open to the community and features fresh produce, fish, and meats. You can also find a variety of ready-cooked foods, arts, crafts, and clothes from local and expat entrepreneurs alike.
There is also a Coco Sunset Market every Thursday evening at the same location. This market is often accompanied by live music and drink specials at the Garden Bar. The Sunset Market takes place from 4 to 8 pm.
Local Art Sightings
The Art Boutique is a newly opened gallery space above Johann Bistro along the main street near the beach. It is run by five local women who display their unique pieces. The artwork includes large and small canvas paintings by Art by Lali, painted throw pillows and hats, woodwork and jewelry. They even hold a variety of classes for both children and adults. They host jewelry and macramé making, art classes, and the popular ‘sip and paint’ dates where participants drink wine while completing a simple painting.
Amano Jewelry features a collection of local art and jewelry created right here in Coco. It is located along the main road right next to Hotel Coco Beach and features the work of popular Costa Rican artist Alessandra Cola. They have their own handmade jewelry collection in addition to jewelry, books, bags, and pillows by other local arts and craftsmen. They also carry the popular Gitingas Handbags that were created by two expat women in the area and are manufactured by a social sustainability program called Human Hope.
The Scent of Coffee
You can bring the smell of Costa Rica home with you with the right coffee! Located in La Chorrerra neighborhood in Plaza Costa Mar, Guayoyo Craft Coffee House is a fairly new café in Coco but it has quickly found its way into the community by offering customers the chance to try locally made food, arts, and crafts. While guayoyo is a Venezuelan method of preparing coffee, the restaurant offers their very own pure Costa Rican coffee, which they have carefully selected from the rich soil of the Central Valley. They both brew the coffee and sell the small batch beans to take home. There is also a small selection of unique souvenirs in the shop, such as round Luni coasters and beach towels that resemble the traditional Costa Rican ox cart.
Big Fingers Coffee Roasters is another coffee house that just opened up along the main street of Coco, across the street from The Gym. Run by two brothers from Liberia with a passion for everything coffee, the Cafeto del Monte craft Costa Rican coffee sold here is high quality, reasonably priced, and ready to take home.
The Taste of Chocolate
You’ll find artisan chocolate straight from the farm at Cata Chocolate. The Cata Farm, or finca, is located in Bijagua de Upala, Alajuela and provides the cacao pods needed to create these Costa Rican delicacies, which are then made in-store. You can even smell the cacao roasting when you walk up the stairs! This specialty shop is located close to the beach in Coco, in the same commercial development as Johann Bistro and The Art Boutique. If coffee is the smell of Costa Rica than this pure chocolate is definitely the taste of Costa Rica!
The award-winning chocolate isn’t the only thing worth bringing home from Cata Chocolate. They hand roll their own cigars at the shop as well create their own line of hot sauces, and roast small batches of coffee called Solo Bueno. If you like shopping with a conscience then you can definitely feel good about Cata Chocolate. The store sells inexpensive shopping bags that support at-risk women in the area and they have solar panels on their roof to offset energy used by the chocolate and coffee production, with the excess going back to the power grid. This shop offers both tours of this facility and their farm located an hour and a half away from Coco.
There are many options beyond the typical souvenir shops to help you bring home all the sights, smells, and tastes of Costa Rica, you just need to know where to look.
Not in Costa Rica Yet? Check out these Costa Rica-Inspired Gifts:
- The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100
- Fodor’s Essential Costa Rica
- The Ultimate Costa Rica Cookbook
- Cut the Crap & Move to Costa Rica
- Cafe Britt Costa Rica Origins Coffee Bundle
